


Eye for an Eye

by AngelicPretty



Category: Metalocalypse
Genre: Angst, Gore, M/M, Redemption, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 17:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3076679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicPretty/pseuds/AngelicPretty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gift exchange fic for Minty_Winklepicker/Klokworkdandy.</p><p>AU where Magnus tries to free Toki and Abigail, but ends up getting caught, injured, and locked up with them. The Assassin decides to make a game out of his new captive, and while having to face each other, Toki and Magnus end up dealing with the lies and leftover feelings Magnus' betrayal caused.<br/>This fic turned out a lot gayer than I thought it'd be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eye for an Eye

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Minty_Winklepicker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minty_Winklepicker/gifts).



> This fic was supposed to be short then it got severely out of hand. I'm just glad to be finally done with this monster. But I hope you enjoy it all the same! its 4am im going to bed  
> Ps I HATE WRITING TOKIS ACCENT SO MUCH

The plan wasn’t working at all.

The Assassin kept killing every Gear that discovered their location while the band themselves didn’t seem to care. Offdensen was the only one actively looking for Toki and even he was drawing closer to giving up with every passing day and every dead Gear at his doorstep. It had been fun, for lack of a better term, for a few days, but whatever enjoyment he’d gotten from treating Toki like a dog had faded as quickly as it had come.

Two weeks had been enough. When the Assassin threatened to let them rot down there for however many months it took, Magnus decided it was enough. Neither Toki nor Abigail had done anything wrong. Two weeks was more enough.

 

“I’m gonna get you out of here.”

He approached them quickly, ignoring their blatant confusion, but before Magnus could even kneel down to unlock Toki’s collar, the rusty iron door behind him – the same door that he could have sworn he shut - slowly opened with a spine-chilling creak. Twisting around, fear suddenly locked him into place. He had expected, should he get caught, the door to be torn out of the doorframe by the Assassin furious force. Instead, it seemed to open on its own, creaking in the darkness like something out of a horror movie. He heard Toki whimper behind him but he could not look away from the figures that slipped out of the dark hallway he’d just come from, spilling into the room in absolute silence. From his distance and with such little light, pale faces were all that could be seen in their faint silhouettes, but every face was featureless. A mass of thin faces with hollow eye sockets, like those belonging to that of an empty skull, somehow seemed to stare straight into Magnus as if they were a pack of soulless judges.

And then _he_ stepped out, parting his sea of empty followers, and eyes almost glowing behind that metal mask Magnus had come to hate so much.

“I should have them eat you alive. And I was going to.”

Magnus had known the risks of going against his ex-partner. He’d seen firsthand what he could do and what he had done. It was all the more reason for fear to inundate him entirely.

“But now I have something a lot more fun in mind.”

Heart threatening to erupt from his chest, it was all Magnus could do to step back as the Assassin closed in on him. There was nothing to say or do anymore. He was going to die.

A single large hand was suddenly crushing his throat and just as abruptly, all thoughts were dashed from his mind as his head struck the broken tile wall with violent force. Stunned from the impact, the pain that filled his skull drowned out the world around him. He struggled to push himself up but there was a weight on his chest. He couldn’t sit up, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t-

-he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He tried to force his eyes open as panic welled up in his chest – but it wasn’t panic so much as it was an unbearable, crushing pressure. Looking down in terror, Magnus watched as the Assassin slowly pressed his foot down on his chest, the heavy sole of his heel digging into his ribs. In the instant his eyes flashed up to meet the Assassin’s, before he could beg, before he could attempt even another breath, a scream tore from his throat as the Assassin lifted his foot and brought it down with skull-crushing power straight down onto Magnus’ ribcage.

The foot was gone as quickly as it had come down, leaving Magnus curled up on the ground. The sound of his own ribs cracking echoed in his ears like thunder, muffling whatever pitiful, pained cries were slipping from his throat as the shock numbed his mind. Fire spread from his lungs into his chest with every difficult breath.

“Since you want to play games, let’s play games.” The Assassin strode over to Toki and Abigail, but with Magnus’ cringing, limited eyesight, his bulky body blocked the view. He heard the metallic ring of a blade unsheathing, but instead of being met with screams, the lengthy knife hit the floor with a clatter.

“Whichever one of you kills him first gets to go free.” The Assassin finally stepped off to the side, revealing both Abigail and Toki’s horrified faces. The two watched Magnus, who could barely stave off the looming unconsciousness, with wide eyes. “He’ll die now regardless,” the Assassin continued. “So if neither of you can do it, you both get to stay and keep his rotting corpse company until I’m done with you myself.”

As soon as the Assassin turned to leave, Magnus’ eyes darted from the door to the pair sitting just feet away from him. They had a knife, enough chain, and more than enough motive to gut him without a second thought. Just as the door had slammed shut behind the Assassin, shaking dust and debris from the ceiling and walls, Magnus’ tried to crawl backwards in panicked desperation, just out of their chain’s radius, but with even the minutest of movements, it felt as if his chest would explode. Simply sitting up took upper body strength that he could no longer summon. Dragging his whole body away was impossible.

Curled up in pain and virtually immobilized, Magnus had been offered up like a pig to the slaughter for Abigail and Toki to exact their own revenge. He stared at them, eyes wide in fear and agonizing pain. They stared back, perhaps just as scared.

Would they really kill him? They had all the reason to.

He bent his legs and leant forward in an attempt to stand but his knees buckled under the weight and searing pain inside the right half of his ribcage. When he gave a sharp gasp at the pain, his chest filled with fire again. Grimacing, Magnus pushed himself up with every ounce of strength he had. He thought he was going to pass out as he straightened back, falling back against the wall and clutching his side. He lifted his shirt, the fabric sticking slightly to the damaged side of his torso, to assess the damage done. His heart stopped at the sight. Covering it back up with shaking hands, Magnus looked up with a quivering, painful sigh. He knew his hostages - now his executioners – looked on as he tried to steel himself to both the pain and his new fate.

Magnus’ eyelids suddenly fell and his thoughts flickered in and out before his consciousness faded.

 

* * *

 

Though it was difficult to tell from underground, a day had passed since Magnus had joined them in the basement. But the day had not passed easily. Magnus was still alive and the Assassin was none too pleased. The silhouettes of Revengencers stood near the door, somehow entering without a sound. It was only when Toki happened to look up that he’d catch a glimpse of empty eyes in the dark, watching him.

_“Think about how you got here.”_

Their voices were like the wisps of ghosts.

_“Think about what he did to you.”_

_“You want revenge.”_

_“This is your chance.”_

_“Kill him.”_

They disappeared and reappeared without warning, but always kept vigil for the Assassin, waiting and urging for one of their captives to make a move. The idea of murdering someone in cold blood was not something Toki had ever thought he’d even _consider_. But how could anyone say they would not consider the unthinkable, even for a fraction of a second, when presented with a way out of suffering and certain death? But Toki, no matter how angry and betrayed and terrified he felt, knew he could never go through with it. His freedom would cost too much. Not only was killing Magnus impossible, but it would mean leaving Abigail behind - and only if the Assassin stayed true to his word. Abigail was not convinced he would be.

“He’s just trying to make a rift between us,” Abigail whispered, her voice low to keep Magnus from hearing. “He wants to control us, to turn us into one of those things out there. But we don’t have to lose that part of our humanity.” She held Toki firmly by the shoulders as she talked him through it, but it as if she was trying to convince herself more than anything. “We don’t have to murder anyone. The band _will_ come for us. We don’t have to dirty our hands with anything. Besides, he isn’t going to let either of us go, even if we did. You know that, right Toki?”

“Yeah…”

“He’ll die on his own. And if we kill the bastard it’d just be a mercy he doesn’t deserve.”

Toki looked down, unable to bring himself to agree. Abigail did not approve of his reaction.

“Toki. Look at what he’s done to you.”

He looked back up at Abigail briefly before turning towards Magnus, who hadn’t moved from his spot, eyes closed and propped up against the wall adjacent to the two. His hand never left his side.

“I wants to ask him somethings…”

“Fine,” Abigail shrugged, annoyed. She sat back, ready to watch.

“Magnus.” He’d intended for his voice to come out strong and firm, but even he could tell how it quavered. Magnus’ eyes opened slowly, meeting Toki’s gaze. There was nothing behind his eyes except for a flash of fear at being called for, perhaps afraid that his time was up. He didn’t speak but instead waited for Toki to continue. “I just needs to asks. Haves you always reallies hated me? Evens when we hungs out and had fun…?”

Magnus stared, unblinking, before finally answering.

“I never ‘had fun’ with you, Toki.” His voice wasn’t harsh or offended but rather quiet, almost as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

Even still, Toki felt his heart sink. Though he _knew_ this, it was painful to hear, especially with such cold indifference.

“And I have hated you well before we even met.”

Another knife straight to the heart. He knew it was stupid to hold out such a hope, but up until now he’d prayed Magnus was just being forced by the Assassin to do such awful things because he had no choice. Now, he nodded faintly, pursing his lips in reluctant acceptance.

“I don’ts know how longs we all have to lives… But I just don’ts want anymore lies. That…ams all. I justs needs to know why you trieds to free us.”

Magnus only looked at Toki in silence through half-lidded eyes for what felt like an eternity before he replied.

“Who knows.”

That concluded their exchanges for the next few days to come.

 

* * *

 

It was awkward at first, to say the least. While the Revengencers on watch had seemed to grow scarcer due to Abigail and Toki’s boring inability to kill someone, Magnus was always there. Though the two tried to ignore his presence, their usual conversations were strained and brief, as if Magnus hearing them would somehow make things worse. Otherwise, Abigail found it easy to disregard him until Magnus was struck with fits of deep coughs. His extreme agony grew more apparent every day.

He held his shirt closed, never taking his hand from his side as he gripped at the fabric particularly hard during coughing fits. Toki could tell he was fighting back pained whimpers, grunts, and groans with all his might, swallowing down what he could as he desperately fought to keep himself from curling up or falling to the side again.

On Magnus’ third night in their company, Toki could no longer ignore his suffering. In Magnus’ stead, a Revengencer had been delivering the food and water to the basement, but unlike Magnus her visits were not consistent, and when she did come down, what she brought was the same minimal amount that had to be split between Abigail and Toki. It truthfully couldn’t even sustain the two alone for much longer. Sharing with another person would only kill them faster. But… Toki glanced at Magnus through the corner of his eye as he tried to hold back another fit of coughs. His throat must have been unbearably dry and raw by now. And he knew how awful hunger could be.

If Abigail hadn’t been asleep when the Revengencer dropped the small metal pail, dented, beginning to rust, and only half full of water at their feet, Toki probably would have thought twice about his decision. He waited for the Revengencer to leave before carefully lifting the chain from the floor so the clinking wouldn’t wake Abigail as he crawled over to Magnus, pail in tow.

Magnus tensed up when he noticed Toki moving towards him. Shaking his head slightly, Toki raised his empty hand.

“I’m not goings to hurt you.” He motioned back at the knife sitting next to Abigail.

“Just stay away from me.” It was the first thing he’d said in three days.

“Nothing to eats today but…” Toki tilted his head at the water. “You must be thirsties…”

“I’m not,” Magnus shot back, but the roughness in his voice betrayed him.

“I saids no more lies.”

 _“I don’t want your fucking pity,”_ Magnus snarled back, but Toki wasn’t daunted.

“Yeah wells I didn’t wants you to stabs me, so...” Toki muttered, closing in the distance between them. Magnus tried to push back against the wall to straighten out from the slouch he’d been stuck in and Toki could see a wince under the straight face he put on. His left hand stayed glued at his right side even as he tried to push himself up. “Ams it reallies bad…?” If he couldn’t move, let alone sit up, it had to be.

“Just-” Magnus took a sharp breath. “Just fucking go back to your side and leave me alone.” His eyebrows suddenly knitted as he brought his free hand up to cover his mouth and cleared his throat, no doubt trying to swallow back another wave of coughs.

Concerned, Toki reached out towards the hidden wound. Though he didn’t know what, he wanted to do something to help, but his wrist was suddenly caught in a grip so tight it burned.

“Don’t. Just go back. Please.” Magnus let go slowly, returning his hand to its spot on his side.

Feeling something stick to the hair of his arm, Toki looked down to see his wrist had been coated in dark red.

“You ams bleedings…?”

Magnus gave a shallow sigh. “What gave it away.”

“Please, just lets me helps you this once,” Toki pleaded, pulling the water closer. “At least drinks a little.”

“Toki, I think you’re missing the point of me being down here.”

“I won’ts kill you.”

Magnus weighed his options, and then finally closed his eyes in defeat. He slowly removed his hand from the wound and gingerly lifted the hem of his buttoned-for-once-in-his-life shirt.

“Good, because I don’t want to die, but…” As Toki looked down his gaze was instantly met with a mass of purple and red. “I don’t think I have a say in the matter…”

It took a moment to register but Toki swallowed as he realized what he was looking at. The right half of Magnus’ torso, where the base of his ribcage should have been, was sunken in. His entire right side, from stomach up past his rolled shirt, was painted with a single, massive, multicolored bruise. A mix of dried and wet blood had caked into the fabric of his shirt as he’d pressed against the wound, which had begun to bleed again now that the fabric had been peeled off. Two oddly shaped chunks of dried blood caught Toki’s attention, but as his eyes drifted to the newly concave nature of Magnus’ chest, he did a double take. He stared as it dawned on him. They were not pieces of clotting blood at all. Two broken, bloodstained ribs had pierced through Magnus’ skin from the impact.

Gaping in horror, Toki drew back. “It’s been likes this the whole times…?”

Magnus didn’t reply as he pulled his shirt back down.

Toki blanked, at a loss for words. What could he do? There was nothing he could do to help down here.

“Must feel good, huh?” Magnus gave a dry, defeated smile. “Seeing me like this.”

“No I-”

_“Toki!”_

Toki jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He shot around to see Abigail wide awake.

“What are you doing!? Get away from him!” Her eyes dropped to the pail that came into her view as Toki turned towards her. “Is that our food? You’re giving _him_ our _food_?”

“It’s just a little bits of waters-”

“That’s even more important!” She crawled forward slightly, reaching her hand out. She probably didn’t want to be anywhere near Magnus. “Toki, get back over here, please. And bring the water.”

Caught red-handed, Toki felt his cheeks heat with shame. He looked back down at Magnus, who offered only a raised eyebrow and a faint shake of his head. He’d covered up the wound again. Inhaling sharply, Toki slunk back to his spot next to Abigail, setting the water between them.

“What is wrong with you?” she hissed, gripping Toki by the shoulders.

“He won’ts die if we helps him,” Toki all but muttered, looking down in guilt.

“But why would you _want_ to help him?” Abigail squeezed his shoulders. “Have you just forgotten why we’re here? What he’s done to you?”

“I just…” He trailed off, unsure of what to even say. He wondered if she was even aware she was repeating what the Revengencers had whispered to them.

“You just what?”

“He’s in a lots of pains…”

Abigail’s face twisted in a mix of disbelief and bewilderment. “Like we aren’t? Does the hole in your stomach feel fine? Because mine sure as hell doesn’t!”

“I’m sorries! I didn’ts mean to…”

Abigail looked off to the side as she took a breath, trying to calm down. “Listen, Toki. I know you’re a good kid. But if we’re both going to survive this, you need to ignore him. He’s going to die anyway, okay? If you waste the only lifelines we have on him, it only speeds up our own death and slows down his by some insignificant amount of time. Besides, if we try to keep him alive, the guy upstairs is _not_ going to be happy.”

“Then what cans we do…?”

“Everything is going to be fine,” she reassured. “The band _will_ save us. They _will_ come and it’ll be for both of us. We won’t have to kill anyone. No one’s going to get left behind.”

“Buts-”

“Say it. No one’s going to get left behind.”

“…No one’s going to get left behinds.”

“Close enough,” she smiled, trying to lift the tension.

She gradually changed the subject, talking of happier times in an attempt to raise Toki’s spirits, but his mind was stuck on the image of broken, bloody ribs sticking out of purple skin.

 

* * *

 

Despite Abigail’s talk, Toki could not keep himself away no matter how hard he tried. He continued to visit Magnus while she slept, saving portions of his rations in an attempt to get Magnus to eat or drink. Though he still refused to eat, when Magnus finally caved in and drank, Toki felt more relieved than he knew he should have been. But the victory was tiny, and perhaps too little too late. Magnus seemed to grow paler and weaker by the hour. Often it looked like he had fainted rather than fallen asleep.

The night after he had finally accepted water, Magnus blinked awake as Toki quietly approached, a small, tattered tin filled with the same mushy slop they’d been fed in his hands.

“You should stop,” he muttered, letting his eyes fall back shut. “You’re just going to make her madder. And the Assassin…”

“I don’ts cares. I can’ts just leaves you like this.”

Magnus opened his eyes again, his eyelids still heavy, and stared up at Toki intently.

“You don’t look very good yourself, you know.”

“I’ll be fines. I made it this longs after alls.” Toki wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with such treatment.

“You have, haven’t you,” Magnus replied dryly before dropping his gaze to the floor.

“Please, just eats a little, before she wakes up. Then I’ll leaves you alones.”

Magnus watched the food as if waiting for it to spring up and attack him. “I can honestly say I have no appetite.”

Toki frowned. “Whats, ams you too goods to eats what you’ve been givings us?”

“Well, I knew what was going into the stuff I gave you because I had to make it. I don’t think I want to know what’s going in there now… Knowing them…”

Toki’s expression fell as his mind wandered. “You don’ts think they puts…”

Magnus tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “You could be eating one of your loyal Gears for all I know. I don’t care what you two do… But I think I’ll pass.”

Toki felt his blood run cold as he shoved the tin away from him and ran his hands down his face, beyond horrified.

“I needs to tell Abigail… Oh god… Oh fuck…” A quiet laugh interrupted his fretting and he turned back towards Magnus, horrorstruck. “How ams this funnies?”

“I was just fucking with you.”

“…Wh…” The word died at his lips. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or pissed off.

“It looks the same as usual, doesn’t it? If there’s no meat in it, you’re probably fine.” Magnus closed his eyes with a mischievous smile. “But you should have seen your face.”

“Then why won’ts you eats it?” Toki challenged, uncertainty still haunting him.

“I told you. I’m just not hungry.”

“Then I’ll stays until you ams.”

“Toki, I swear to god,” Magnus groaned. “Just go the fuck away already.”

“It’s been days… You needs to eats at least a littles.”

“Or what? I’ll die? Starvation takes _days_. And I don’t have days.” He narrowed his eyes and lightly tapped his chest. “Pretty fuckin’ sure my lung’s punctured. Any day, any _minute_ now, it’ll collapse. And then? Who fuckin’ knows. _You_ need to eat that shit, because at least you have a chance.”

Though Toki didn’t really know anything about the human body he was finally beginning to understand the gravity of Magnus’ situation. As much as he wanted to call Magnus out on bullshit again, he nodded meekly, eyes on the floor. He wouldn’t joke about something like that.

And Magnus sighed, running a hand through his hair stressfully. “I always knew my lungs would kill me one day, but I always thought it’d just be from smoking.” He dragged his fingers down his temple. “Though I might have had a better chance if I hadn’t already basically killed them myself…”

“I always tolds you, you needs to quit…”

At that, Magnus gave a dry, raspy mix between a cough and a laugh.

“And deny me of my one vice left?”

“You hads a lots more than one.” Toki spoke without meaning to and regret instantly washed over him.

He waited for Magnus to deny it or argue back, but instead, he felt eyes on the bruises peeking out from under the metal collar around his neck, then to the knife wound exposed through the tattered rag of a shirt that had once been considered formal. With nowhere else to look, Magnus returned his gaze to the ground.

“I-”

_“Toki.”_

Abigail’s voice echoed off the walls. Toki spun around, grabbing the tin with shaking hands and quickly began preparing an apology. Magnus’ low voice followed after him as he hurried back to her side.

“Told you.”

 

* * *

 

Quiet nights became scarce as Magnus’ condition worsened.

Toki woke to the sound of labored gasping and groaning from across the room. He eyed Magnus but in his daze, he did not react as Magnus slumped and slid down the wall, grasping his chest frantically as he curled into himself and letting out a pitiful, shivering cry. In an act of futility, he reached to the floor in an attempt to push himself back up, but his arm shook before his elbow gave out beneath him entirely. Toki was fully awake as soon as he hit the ground. He tore his attention from Magnus, hoping to find Abigail hadn’t been woken. Her eyes were closed so his heart nearly stopped when she spoke.

“Just shut him up.”

Toki thanked her profusely as he crawled over to Magnus as quickly as he could. Lifting him by the shoulders carefully, he slowly set him back up against the wall, but the way Magnus kept curling up against his right side, he couldn’t stay up. Unable to think of another way to keep him upright, Toki pushed himself between Magnus and the wall, sitting him up against his own chest and bracing him with his arms.

At first he only felt heat. Magnus’ skin felt like fire against his. His hair was damp with sweat and clung to his neck and face like he’d just taken a shower. And then he felt his heartbeat. It pounded furiously against his forearm, hammering away faster than Toki even thought possible. He wanted to say something, to reassure him that he’d be okay, but Magnus clearly already knew the truth. There was nothing Toki could do besides hold him upright and wait for the pain to pass, if it even would.

His chest seemed to rise and fall under Toki’s arm even faster than his heart could pound as he gasped and panted, but something felt off. Toki leant to the side, peering down past Magnus’ shoulders. With every panicked breath, the left side of Magnus’ chest rose. The right side did not. Toki cautiously pulled open Magnus’ shirt to see if something had happened to the rib wound but his hand froze halfway. Small bubbles of air were scattered about Magnus’ upper chest, just under the skin. Toki choked back a gasp of his own, terror rising up in him. There were only a few but he had never seen something like this before and he still had no idea what was happening.

“I-I don’ts know whats to do…” Toki stammered.

“My lung…” Magnus’ words were just short of a wisp of air. “I think it-” he withdrew another shaky breath, “-it finally collapsed.”

“But whats can I do?”

Magnus shook his head feebly. “Nothing.”

There was nothing to do but wait. So they waited to see what would happen. When Magnus’ rigid body finally relaxed, Toki feared the worst was on its way. But while he continued to breathe rapidly, at least he was breathing. Gradually his whole body seemed to calm, aside from involuntary shuddering that rolled down his spine and into his limbs.

Toki waited for Magnus’ to snap at him to let go, but when he spoke, his voice was somewhat… diffident.

“After…everything I did to you… Why do you still want to help me?”

Toki hesitated. He’d never really thought to put his reasoning into words. It was hard to face because he knew how idiotic it was of him but…

“I knows it’s real stupids. And naïves. But I still sees you as my friends. No matters how much I wanteds to hates you… I wanteds to believes in you even mores.” Toki paused. “I don’ts thinks I was wrong to.”

“You’re such an idiot...”

Toki couldn’t help but smile. “That sounds likes the you I used to knows.”

“Whatever you say…”

Toki felt Magnus’ body finally fall limp. He was still alive. His heart still raced and his body still kept trying to breathe despite the circumstances. Toki slowly exhaled, now stuck between the wall and a sleeping body. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to be or anything to do, exactly, but he didn’t want Magnus to wake up in agitation and hate him even more. Slipping out was difficult, and keeping him upright even harder, but Toki managed and returned to Abigail’s side.

Though he would have gone anyway, he was glad she’d let him go to Magnus, even if it was just to quiet him. Maybe she was beginning to feel bad for him too, Toki mused.

 

* * *

 

There was the muted sound of rattling metal. Unable to fully sleep because of the pain, Magnus opened his eyes to see a figure in the darkness standing before him. Moonlight glinted off quivering silver.

“Go ahead,” Magnus said, letting his head slowly tilt to the side in his fatigue. “I don’t know what I’m waiting for, really… I’ll go quietly, I’ll scream. Whatever you want. Just tell him Toki did it.”

Abigail stepped forward, looking down past her nose at Magnus. “You think I’m like you? I’m not a murderer.”

“Well, neither am I,” Magnus countered. “Enlighten me. What did you plan on doing with that then…?” He nodded at the knife. “While he’s asleep. While I’m asleep…”

“Fuck you.”

“You act like some Mother Theresa to his face, tell him no one has to kill anyone, then you kill me and get out on your own.”

“No-”

“Just leaving him here to rot. Alone again, betrayed again-”

“ _Fuck_. _You!”_ Abigail snarled, stepping closer with each word. “I shouldn’t even be here! I never did anything to you or that fucking monster up there! I have even less to do with all this bullshit than Toki does! Nathan and I were never anything to begin with! And in case you guys didn’t fucking hear him at the funeral, he chose his band ‘over the girl’ anyway! I’m nothing to them!” She shook her head furiously, pointing at Toki behind her with the knife. “If they come, they’re coming for him. I’m just a fucking bonus they can try to fuck later in exchange for saving me, and thats _if_ they even remember that I was kidnapped too!” She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, her expression still livid. “If he goes free? Will they even come for me?” Her voice cracked as she fought back the tears. “Toki could try to convince them to, sure, but something tells me that they’re already trying their best not to come at all… even for him…”

Magnus withheld a sigh. He’d never known the extent – or lack thereof - of her relationship with Dethklok. It only fed his hatred for them. He tried to look away, his own guilt he’d been trying to hold back resurfacing, but as his gaze fell from her dirty, tear-streaked face it met with a pair of eyes just behind her. Magnus’ blood ran cold as he realized Toki had woken from her yelling…and had undoubtedly heard everything.

“…I wouldn’t blame either of you if you killed me.” He tried to keep his eyes on Abigail so she didn’t know Toki had awoken, but his sentiment was meant for both of them.

Abigail threw the knife at Magnus’ feet in bitter contempt.

“No. You need to suffer for what you’ve done. If I could make it worse, I would. But I’m not going to kill you. Do it yourself if you want out faster. I’ll just tell him one of us did it.”

“Which one?”

“I’ll figure that out on my own. But don’t give me this bullshit, this _acting_ like you suddenly care about his life.”

Toki closed his eyes just in time as Abigail turned and took her place next to him, burying her face into her arms and knees. He cautiously peered over at her and, without moving, met eye contact with Magnus again for only a second before shutting his eyes and looking away in utter guilt.

And for a moment, just one short moment, Magnus forgot about the pain in his body and tried to shut out the pain in his heart.

 

* * *

 

Before Magnus had tried to free them, Toki and Abigail had spent many of their days chatting the long hours away, swapping stories and telling each other more about themselves. But since he had permanently joined them, they rarely spoke outside of small, quiet exchanges. Abigail had grown especially distant after realizing Toki wasn’t about to stop wasting his rations and rushing off to Magnus’ aid whenever his condition seemed to deteriorate further.

Hearing her unload what she was no doubt holding in all this time had opened his eyes. Toki understood the stress she must’ve been under with Magnus’ constant presence. Not only did she rightfully detest him for what he’d done, but he’d also ruined their previous balance and removed them of their privacy.

Even still, Toki could not bring himself to leave Magnus for dead. And Abigail never physically stopped Toki from going to him when she very well could. He knew Abigail was not a hateful or violent person. No matter how desperately she wanted even a single shred of justice delivered unto Magnus, Toki did not believe that she would take pleasure in the prolonged suffering of others.

And while Toki still did not know why, Magnus had tried to help them. He was sure it had to count for something. If they were to die here, he wanted to at least die knowing the truth behind all of Magnus’ actions. And apparently, Magnus had somehow had the same idea.

“Toki…” Magnus’ weak voice rent the day long silence.

Toki felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Magnus had never called out for him directly.

“Will you… come here?”

Toki inhaled slowly, glancing over at Abigail who rolled her eyes and shrugged before turning away. Her reaction stung, but Toki wouldn’t trouble himself with it any longer. Surely all three of them knew Magnus was running out of time. Toki crawled over to his side, eyes to the floor.

“Yes…?” He finally looked up at Magnus, but avoided eye contact. Instead he observed how much paler he’d grown and how his fingers seemed discolored, shaking where they were held against his torso. His right arm sat limp, draped over his stomach as his left arm rested as always over his exposed bone. Toki could feel that half blind gaze focused on him as Magnus drew in a shaky, shallow breath. He seemed to be gathering his courage just as much as Toki had.

“How… How’s your, uh… Your stomach…?” He kept his voice low, perhaps to keep Abigail from hearing too much, but it was already strained and breathy as it was.

Caught completely off guard with such a question, Toki’s eyes flashed down to his stab wound as if trying to confirm that it was still there.

“It…hurts.”

Magnus looked away, nodding faintly and giving a “right” through a shallow sigh as Toki sat perfectly still, heart racing in his confusion. He couldn’t figure out where Magnus was going with this and it worried him.

“Toki, I’m-” Magnus swallowed hard and looked back up. “I lied.”

Toki stared blankly back at him. His heart had been going a mile a minute but now he just felt disappointed.

“Yeah, I knows.”

“No, I mean… Back when I ended up like this. When you asked if I hated you the whole time, before I...” His eyes dropped to Toki’s wound.

“When I tolds you to gives me the truth?”

“Yes. I lied. I actually only hated you most of the time.”

Unsure if this was supposed to be some kind of shitty joke again, Toki leered back at Magnus.

“That ams such a reliefs to hear.”

Perhaps thrown off by Toki’s sudden sarcasm, Magnus hesitated for a moment before finally continuing. “Do you remember that time you dragged me to that amusement park and-“

“Waits, I _dragged_ you theres…?”

Magnus looked at him incredulously.

“There and everywhere else we went. Do I look like the kind of guy who would find those places fun?”

“…Never reallies thoughts about it before…”

“Of course not.” Magnus shook his head. “But I guess it was worth it just for the haunted house.”

“Oh fucks, you remembers thats?” Toki gasped, surprised Magnus hadn’t forced himself to forget solely to cope with the trauma.

“We got separated in the dark for only a couple of seconds and somehow… you found your way to the people in front of us. You grabbed the guy thinking it was me and he screamed like a girl then went and punched your fuckin’ lights out.” Despite the obvious difficulty he had breathing, Magnus kept pushing through. His left hand had moved from his injury up to his chest at some point and Toki wondered if it hurt just to speak at all. “Nearly tripped on you when I found you on the ground with a bloody nose… and I was thinking this was some kind of joke, a part of the haunted house…”

“We had to runs to the food areas for napkins…” It came back to him so clearly now. They had been laughing the entire time like idiots as they sat there at the food court bench, shoving tissues up Toki’s nose until they thought it was finally over.

“And then… On the Ferris wheel when you sneezed…” They hadn’t even gotten to the top before Toki sneezed, opening up his nosebleed again. In his panic, and not wanting to make a mess, he leant over the railing, letting the blood drip down onto the cars below. “They had to close the ride because of you. You made some kid cry.”

Toki’s brow furrowed as he narrowed his eyes, almost offended. “Waits… You onlys had fun because I got hurts and a kids cried.”

“Maybe,” he gave a weak smirk. “But you don’t remember the worst part of that day, do you?”

“…Gettings punched wasn’t the worst parts?”

Magnus groaned. “Fuck… You don’t remember what you were saying when you got off the fucking Ferris wheel?”

“Uhmm…”

“Holy shit, I can’t believe I’m about to repeat this… You really don’t remember?”

“What?” Toki urged. “What dids I say?”

“You announced your apology to _every-fucking-one around us_ about the… the ‘blowjob on the Ferris wheel’ that you got.”

Toki froze, eyes wide in disbelief and mouth open in failed protest but it took all he could to fight back a smile.

“I never thought, of all the things I’d die from, that I’d die in an amusement park from _embarrassment_. Wanted to stab you right then and there, honestly.”

“What else dids I say?”

Magnus tried to sigh but all that came out was a rough cough, leaving him cringing and clawing at his chest. A wave of panic washed over Toki as he moved in closer putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to keep him sitting upright, but there was still nothing he could actually do to help besides wait for it to pass.

“It’s okay,” Mangus managed after catching his breath. “You said something like, you didn’t mean to make a mess in there. Some other stupid things…”

“You don’t have to keeps talkings if it hurts.”

“I’m fine.”

Magnus tried to swallow, perhaps to hold back another coughing fit, but Toki noticed he had trouble with even that. Toki looked down at him, unwilling to argue, feeling more useless than ever. He sat quietly, fumbling his fingers together as he waited for Magnus to either keep going or give up. He honestly didn’t want to keep talking about the past. His eyes had grown wet at some point remembering how happy he once had been.

“Hey, don’t look so sad…”

“What dids you expects? It hurts.”

“I know.” Magnus looked straight ahead into the darkness of the room. “You told me you wanted the truth and I wanted to finally give it to you… Before it was too late.” When Toki couldn’t find the words to reply, he continued. “I’m just…trying to give you a reason to smile. Though I was…never any good at it…”

Toki blinked away the tears forming in his eyes and gave Magnus a wide, knowing smile.

“Wells, I lieds too.”

“…About what?”

“I did remembers. I justs wanted to makes you say it.”

As Magnus realized what he meant, his expression shifted in a way Toki hadn’t seen since their days together, half fake half real as they were. Though weary and labored, his smile and laugh were just like they were on that day in the food court, swabbing up Toki’s nosebleed.

“And I thought I was the asshole.”

“Don’ts worries,” Toki laughed, “yous stills the asshole.”

“Yeah. Yeah…” Magnus exhaled slowly. “I really earned that title...”

Toki didn’t like the direction Magnus was taking the conversation. “Remembers when we were drunks and I made you try and get that cats out of the trees?”

“…I think I still have the scar from where it landed. I can tell you now… I did _not_ have fun that night.”

Toki let himself laugh a little more as they dug up old stories, many embarrassing but fond all the same. But soon Toki found himself cutting their moment short, insisting he return to his spot to placate Abigail, but he truthfully wanted to keep Magnus from pushing himself too hard. He often had to stop speaking to catch his breath several times, only to assure Toki he was fine. When his eyes began to drift and his head struggled to stay up, Toki could tell he was beginning to grow lightheaded and knew he needed to rest.

Toki tried to keep his thoughts positive for as long as he could. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest, knowing that Magnus hadn’t exactly hated him all this time. But it hurt all the same to remember days gone by…and to imagine the days that would never come.

 

* * *

 

The night finally came where Magnus could bear the pain no longer.

It was the middle of the night when Toki jolted awake at the sound of his name being called again. It was quiet and weak like a phantom in the walls and Toki knew the night he’d been fearing was finally upon him. He hurriedly crawled to Magnus’ side without regard to waking Abigail and sat as close to Magnus as he could.

“Toki…”

“I’m here,” Toki whispered, gently touching Magnus’ limp right hand. It was as cold as ice. Startled by the temperature, he looked down. Magnus’ hands were turning blue. Toki held back a gasp as he scanned over Magnus’ body. His eyes were bloodshot, glazed over, and extremely slow to respond. They searched for Toki but couldn’t seem to find him. A short trail of freshly dried blood had begun its way out his nose. The veins at his neck were swollen, and as Toki glanced at his quivering lips, he noticed they too had begun to turn blue.

“K-kill me... Please…”

“What?” He’d been shutting the idea out of his mind for as long as possible. Hearing Magnus say it himself brought reality crashing down on him.

“Please, you’ll be doing…a good thing… Giving you the chance to live…is all I want now… B-besides an end t-to this…” His words struggled to be free between his trembling, short breaths and they often got caught in his dry throat, nearly causing him to choke.

“I-I can’ts, I-”

Magnus squeezed Toki’s hand against the center of his chest but even with all his power, his grip was weak. His heart was beating so fast Toki thought it was about to explode.

“It’s been like this s-since he did this to me... It hasn’t slowed since. And now the p-pain is spreading…to the left…and into my heart…” He stopped for a moment, catching his breath between rapid pants. “I’m not getting out of this… So, please… If it’ll give- give you a chance…” His trembling hand couldn’t hold Toki’s up for long before it fell.

“No, I-“

“Please. I’ve made my peace with it.” When Toki shook his head, objection unable to pass his tight throat, Magnus feebly gripped Toki’s wrist again in an attempt to reassure him. “Even if he doesn’t let you g-go… They _will_ come for you. They’d been trying s-so hard to find you… Underneath it all… They were good people.”

“B-but I can’ts dos it, I can’ts kills you. Please don’ts makes me!”

“Toki. I’ve been trying to say- to tell you, h-how sorry I am… But it never felt like enough. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I don’t expect you to ever f-forgive me but… I just want you to know that I am so sorry. I’m so sorry, Toki, I’m so- sorry…” His voice cracked and tears finally fell from his eyes as he still searched for Toki’s.

“Magnus, stop…” Toki couldn’t stand seeing him like this. Just when they had begun to…

“I’m so sorry for everything I’ve d-done to you… I’m sorry for lying to you… I’m so sorry for hurting you… I’m so sorry I dragged you into this… I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out of here the first time…”

“Magnus please stop-”

“But if you just… I know I don’t deserve the easy way out… I don’t… But if it means giving you another- another chance…”

“No, no, I don’ts wants to lose you too!”

“Please…”

They were not aware of the dozens of hollow eyes watching from the doorway.

“I can’ts…” Toki sobbed, hunching over Magnus body and holding his hand in both of his, trying to warm it. “You saids you didn’t wants to die…!”

“Please…”

Torn, Toki could do nothing as he cried and Magnus begged “please” over and over until his voice ran dry, incapable of even a whimper.

And just as Magnus’ eyes fell shut, the door opened so violently it slammed against the wall. The noise and vibration shook Abigail up so quickly it was as if a snake had bitten her. Toki did not move.

“I gave you your chance.”

A tidal wave of dread crashed into Toki as the Assassin entered, shaking his head as he lumbered nearer.

“You’re a lot crueler than I thought you were. Keeping him alive through all that.”

Toki pulled closer to Magnus, holding him tightly and unwilling to let him go no matter what the Assassin demanded.

“But you can always be much crueler.”

There was a crushing grip at his shoulder and suddenly he felt himself being pried from Magnus’ body. He tried to push forward as he was being pulled back, tried to hold Magnus tighter but there was no contest between their strengths. At Toki’s resistance, the Assassin gripped harder and tore them apart, knocking Toki to the ground. Blinking away the daze, Toki pushed himself back up in time to see the Assassin lifting Magnus by the cloth of his shirt with no regard to his injuries. And Magnus’ face twisted and eyes fluttered as his body warred between unconsciousness and consciousness.

“Please don’ts kill him!” Toki cried, throwing himself at the Assassin’s feet and clinging to the stiff fabric of his pants in desperation. The Assassin growled, keeping Magnus in one hand while taking Toki by the neck, his enormous hand wrapping perfectly around the metal collar. Before Toki even realized his feet were off the ground, his back was slammed into a wall, knocking every ounce of air from his lungs. In his aching disorientation, he felt someone lift him again, but gently. Abigail’s voice was crying his name overhead – he must have been thrown back to their wall - but as soon as he found his bearings, Toki pushed himself up again, searching the distorted, shifting room for the Assassin and Magnus. The Assassin had dropped him to the floor and was now standing at his side, his foot all too close to Magnus’ only functional hand.

“Why kill someone when you can make them suffer?” His voice was so low, so dark, so full of indifference and malice that Toki’s stomach twisted in response. This man was more frightening and depraved than Magnus had ever been. And then the Assassin’s foot moved, the heel of his boot lifting one of Magnus’ fingers up and then back. Toki’s breath hitched in his throat as he understood what was going to happen, but he didn’t have enough time to even wince before the sound of bone snapping filled the air, immediately followed by a scream of sheer agony. The nail bed of his index finger now lay flat against the top of his hand, broken backwards under the Assassin’s weight while the skin had torn, leaving the bones of his finger joints and palm exposed to the air.

If Magnus had hoped unconsciousness or death would liberate him before he had to endure any more pain, the Assassin would be sure to prevent it with an onslaught of torture.

Toki tried to run to him, as futile as it would be, but Abigail caught him by the waist and pulled him back, turning and trapping his head against her in an attempt to shield him from the imminent brutality.

“Don’t, Toki. There’s nothing you can do,” she whispered, burying her own face against the top of Toki’s head. “Just don’t watch…”

Toki shook with silent sobs in Abigail’s arms to the sound of another snap, and another, and another, each followed by an awful cry and wheezing, rapid, gasps. It was hard for Toki to believe that such pitiful, dreadful sounds could come from a man he’d always revered as strong and infallible. And it was hard to believe that that man was in fact just that. A man. A man who made mistakes. A man who crumbled under regret and guilt. A man who’d begged for forgiveness and sought for his own retribution but had only received the latter to a cruel and unjust degree.

After the fifth finger, Toki could hear nothing more than Magnus’ breathing. Certain the Assassin would not stop with five fingers unbroken, Toki slowly lifted his head – and froze like a deer in the headlights. The Assassin was staring at them, his empty eyes boring holes into their trembling, huddled figures as he held Magnus’ drooping head up by his hair. Blood was pooling under his hand, but Toki could not tear his eyes from Magnus’ face. It was dirty and wet with tears and sweat, and the blood filling his lungs had continued to seep out his nose and mouth, pushed out by every scream and gasp. And then Magnus’ eyes, which had been glazed over and stared at nothingness, met Toki’s for a fleeting moment before the Assassin threw him to the ground again.

“The knife.” The Assassin was suddenly upon them, yanking the two apart by their chains and retrieving the blade he’d wasted on them. As he strode back to Magnus, Abigail helped Toki back up.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I tried to hide it so he wouldn’t…”

But Toki’s attention was across the room again. The Assassin was kneeling by Magnus now, who’d been propped back up against the wall like a ragdoll. He dug his giant hand through Magnus’ hair again, twisting his fingers at the scalp to keep Magnus’ head up.

_“You don’t need this.”_

Toki could only watch, horrorstruck, as the Assassin brought the tip of the knife to Magnus’ blind eye. His blade jerked forward as Toki was jerked back and Magnus unleashed another heartrending scream. Toki struggled against Abigail before finally giving in and allowing her to turn him away once more. He clenched his jaw and covered his ears as he quietly wept.

He could have prevented this. He could have ended it days ago. Toki cursed himself for being so weak, for knowing that, deep down, he still hoped in his childish, stupid, naïve heart that Magnus could yet survive this. He still had hope, for some foolish reason, that everything would be okay, that maybe his injuries were not fatal. But each of Magnus’ cries was a knell echoing against his heart, a grim reminder that this was the end.

And then there was silence.

Toki lifted his head and peered over Abigail’s shoulder. The Assassin stepped away from Magnus’ body, dropping something red and round and crushing it underfoot as he began towards them once again. Nausea churned Toki’s stomach as he realized what he’d stepped on. He jumped at the sudden metal clang at his side. The Assassin had thrown the knife, now dyed red, back at their feet.

“If he dies on his own, I’ll kill one of you in exchange.” He started towards the door unceremoniously. “If you don’t want to die today, I want to see his still beating heart in your hand.”

The iron door slammed shut.

Abigail slowly released Toki as he stared blankly across the room.

Magnus was left against the wall. Toki could not tell if he was unconscious or dead. He was perfectly silent and still, save for the drip of blood streaming from his eye socket, but Toki could barely see the damage. Magnus was slumped forward, his head hanging limp off his shoulders, bloody, sweaty hair curtaining his face. In his struggle, Magnus’ broken fingers had naturally fallen back into place, but the torn skin and broken bones left his hand disfigured and bloody. His shirt had become more than disheveled, leaving his chest injury exposed. Abigail gasped at the sight, and it only then dawned on Toki that she had never known the degree of Magnus’ suffering.

They stared together, letting the image before them and their final requirement sink in.

As his body settled, Magnus suddenly slid down the wall, hitting the ground with a soft thump.

Seeing him fall over like some corpse finally sent Toki over the edge. He sprang forward in an attempt to rush to Magnus’ side, unwilling to let him die alone. But he was knocked off his feet as the chain pulled taut, choking him as he ran out of length. The Assassin had moved him further away. Toki reached out and tugged violently against his collar and chain, his fingertips still feet away from their goal. Tears blurred his vision as frustration overcame him and rationality escaped him. He tried to crawl in futility, ignoring the sharp metal cutting into his neck, until his hand that had been clawing at the ground for traction met something cold and wet. He looked down to find he’d touched the eye that had been ripped out and trampled. Reeling back with a sob, Abigail caught him from behind, holding him close one last time.

He finally turned into her and gripped her torn, dirty blouse, killing off all that remained of the hope he’d been holding on to.

“When he comes back…” Toki finally spoke, his forehead still pressed against her collarbone. “Please let him kill me… I justs… I can’ts lose both of you…”

Abigail remained silent, stroking his hair gently as he allowed himself to succumb to grief.

 

Time had no meaning. Seconds, minutes, hours all felt the same. Toki didn’t know when Abigail had begun to sing. It seemed even softer than usual, and so much more distant. How long had she been singing for? How long had he remained there, unmoving and numb? Had Magnus finally died? How long had he been dead for? How much longer would it be until one of them was killed just as terribly as he had been? How would they die?

When the door burst open again, nearly ripped off its hinges with such violent, familiar force, Toki did not react. The same questions ran through his mind, even as Abigail’s lullaby was cut short by an incredulous whisper.

_“Oh my god…”_

Toki finally raised his head, expecting to see the Assassin and ready to beg for Abigail’s life. Instead four figures stood before him.

“Hang on, I’ll break the chains.”

“Dude, just use the fuckin’ key you got off that guy!”

“Oh, right.”

The world seemed to resume in triple time but everything felt like a blur.

"The Assassin?"

"Offdensen's taking care of him. Let's go."

There was a click at his neck, and then his face was suddenly framed by two warm hands before a pair of blue eyes came level to his.

“Tokis… You ams safe now, I swears.”

Skwisgaar’s arm slipped up under his and brought him to his feet, wasting no time and quickly leading him towards the exit. But Toki, even in his confusion, looked back after Magnus.

“W-waits! Magnus! Get Magnus!” He pried himself from Skwisgaar’s hold, but only made it a few steps before being caught by Nathan.

“What’s wrong with you?” Nathan’s eyes felt piercing with judgment. “Toki, he’s dead! Just look at him!”

“No he’s not!”

“Yes he is, Toki! We don’t have time for this!”

“He’s-” Toki felt himself drawing nearer to hysterics. “Oh god, please don’ts leaves him, oh please, Nathan! Please help him, someone, please-”

“Nathan.” Abigail’s voice rang out amidst Toki’s pleas. “No one gets left behind today. For Toki. Please.”

Nathan let go of Toki a bit too roughly, growling as he ran across the room. Skwisgaar immediately took his place, twisting Toki back around and forcing him to run. He looked back to see Nathan carefully lifting Magnus’ body and Toki finally felt a sense of relief for the first time in weeks. Even though half his weight was carried by Skwisgaar, his knees felt like they would give out at any second as he ran. He focused on his heartbeat as he ran, remembering the way Magnus’ felt under his hand.

Toki could not feel anything else.

 

* * *

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

* * *

 

 

He slowly opened his eyes.

There was the hum and drone of machinery.

An annoying beeping sound.

The sound of someone breathing.

Something was clasped over his nose and mouth, and his left eye felt strange. Magnus lifted his left hand up to touch it – but his hand was completely wrapped and he could not move his fingers. He brought his right hand up instead and felt over his eye. A large gauze patch was held over it by surgical tape. Mind still cloudy as he stared up at the blindingly white ceiling, he swallowed hard as he tried to remember what had happened. His fingers traced down from the eyepatch to the oxygen mask covering the lower half of his face. As he dug through his muddled memories, the image of his broken ribs flashed across his mind. He instantly looked down at his chest – but before he could tear open the hospital gown, he froze.

Long brown hair draped over the face of the person sleeping at his bedside. Magnus gaped, his hand reaching out midway before stopping short. He couldn’t tell if everything was real or not. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he’d died. Was it really him? He let his hand continue until his fingertips carefully, softly drew the curtain of hair back from his face, tracing against his cheekbones as his fingers moved. And then the last words he’d uttered before fainting slipped out of his still-dry mouth.

“I’m sorry…” His throat tightened as he looked down at Toki’s sleeping face. It was calm, but nowhere near as peaceful as the times he’d fallen asleep before everything had gone to shit. Magnus sighed weakly. How much had he robbed Toki of?

Toki stirred and Magnus jerked his hand away as quickly as possible. Toki blinked, pushed himself up with a yawn, and then immediately did a double-take.

“Yous awake!” He was suddenly beaming with excitement and joy. “How dos you feel?”

Toki’s expression nearly lit up the whole room, but the enthusiasm was not mutual.

“Why am I here?” Magnus demanded, pulling the oxygen mask off.

Toki’s face fell.

“Because you were hurts…? Reallies bad…”

“But why am I…still alive? Why did you save me?” He shook his head in distress. “Why didn’t you just let me die?”

Toki fell silent for a moment as he realized how serious Magnus was.

“…I wanted you to live.”

“I don’t have anything left to live for, Toki.”

Toki dropped his eyes to the floor.

“Dos you believes in second chances?”

He did not but it felt wrong telling that to Toki.

“I wants to try agains… Onlys if you wants to.”

“I don’t deserve…”

“Everyones deserves a second chance. I hopes you’ll considers givings me one too.”

“Toki, I hurt so many people - I hurt you. What I did to you was unforgiveable…” Something warm touched his hand and destroyed his train of thought. He looked down, heart skipping a beat as Toki squeezed his hand softly.

“If you wants me to, I’ll leaves you alone forev-”

“No.” Magnus surprised himself with how quickly the single word came out.

“Thens...?”

“I…” His throat grew tight again.

“Still wants to die?”

Magnus shook his head, unable to get the words out.

_‘No matters how much I wanteds to hates you… I wanteds to believes in you even mores.’_

_‘I don’ts thinks I was wrong to.’_

Magnus squeezed Toki’s hand back, staring straight into the blue eyes he’d wanted to die looking into only a few days prior. Toki’s image blurred and Magnus blinked. A tear fell from his only eye, but for once, he didn’t care about looking and acting tough.

“So that I can prove to you that I was worth believing in… Will you give me a second chance?”

Toki smiled widely and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Thank you for not giving up on me.”

Magnus had gone in trying to save Toki, but in the end Toki had saved him. They knew they would have their fair share of issues in the future. They knew their relationship would never be simple. Magnus’ recovery would be a long and trying process. He would probably never be able to regain full use of his dominant hand. With his lung damage, he would have to stop smoking entirely. But they also knew now that they were both strong enough to endure what would bring most men to their knees. And while kindness, mercy, and love had never been any of Magnus’ strong suits, he was learning. Before, all Magnus had in his life was the thirst for revenge, and Toki. And now revenge meant nothing. All that was left was the only person who’d seen something worth saving in him.

No matter what came now, they would face it all together.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> post-fic/AU notes just for funsies http://letsjustpretendthisneverhappened.tumblr.com/post/106841168859/some-post-fic-things-and-headcanons-for-the-eye


End file.
